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Dirt Racing

Larson Scores at Grandview Again; Godown Mod Man

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Paul Arch

BECHTELSVILLE, PA (June 29, 2021): Kyle Larson demonstrated his mastery of the third-mile oval carved out of a hilltop about fifty years ago. He captured his fourth PA Speedweek win in five years at Grandview Speedway and, to do it, he had to chase down one of the hottest drivers in Pennsylvania. Plus, he had to keep another challenger at bay in the middle stage of the race.

“I definitely had to earn that one,” Larson said in victory lane. “I felt good in the beginning, but not so good in the middle, and then the bottom came in.” Larson explained that he could hear Danny Dietrich behind him, that he saw him, and that he felt him on his right rear when they were fighting for second. But a caution changed things for Larson. He found the rubber and was able to pass the leader from the start, Brent Marks, who slid up out of the groove in turn four.

Dietrich agreed that the caution played a big part in the outcome of the race. “We got rolling there in the middle of the race. I was maybe a lap away from passing Kyle, Maybe I used my stuff up in the middle of the race.”

Anthony Macri had the pole for the 35 lap Hodnett Cup named in honor of the nine-time winner in 410 Sprint competition at Grandview. Next to him was the hottest commodity in PA Sprint Car racing right now, Brent Marks. Paul McMahan and Christopher Bell, the defending race winner, were in row two. Larson and is Califonia pal, Rico Abreu, occupied the third row. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. was in row four, along with Monday’s winner, Justin Peck. Row five featured Buddy Kofoid and Kyle Moody. Ryan Smith and Danny Dietrich were in row six.

Macri was quick down the front stretch, but Marks had the better line in the first turn, He wrestled the lead away from the Concrete Kid. Bell held down the third position, then came McMahan and Larson. Rahmer raced along in sixth, followed by Abreu, Peck, Smith, and Kofoid.

A caution on lap seven almost eliminated the leaders when Jeff Halligan came to a stop unexpectedly in between turns one and two, Marks barely avoided contact, but Bell was not so fortunate. He brushed Halligan and twisted the right rear corner of his top wing inward. That got others jammed up behind Bell, and Peck spun around.

The officials sorted things out, and Marks was positioned on the point for the restart. Macri, Bell, Larson, Rahmer, and McMahan were next in line.

The restart went off without a hitch, but several laps afterwards, there was chaos in turn three. Rahmer spun around and was hit head on by another car. Several cars sustained major damage, including Kofoid, Devon Borden, and Austin Bishop. Bishop was towed to the pits and he was the only racer involved who was able to make repairs and rejoin the race.

Marks took off with the lead again, and it certainly looked as though he would tally his third Speedweek win. Macri held second, but Larson moved ahead of Bell’s wounded car. Larson began to reel in Macri. On lap 22, Larson went under Macri for second and Danny Dietrich, who probably had the fastest car on the track at that stage of the race, moved into third on lap later.

While Marks maintained the lead despite heavy lapped traffic, Larson and Dietrich were putting on quite the show, darting around the slower cars. A key turning point in the race came a few laps later. Just as Dietrich was ready to pounce on Larson in traffic, the caution came out ending his bid for the second spot.

Marks now had Larson on his tail for the final restart. Larson applied the pressure, but he was unable to get by. Larson found some rubber in the low groove, and he put his nose under Marks coming through turns three and four. Marks was unable to keep his car on the bottom and Larson stayed low. He powered off turn four to draw up next to Marks. He executed a hard slider in turn one to take the lead away.

“It was pretty disappointing to get slid at the end,” Marks noted. “I was getting tight in three and four and I thought Kyle was going to slide me down there.” Marks explained that he went low to protect and that he got into some water and slid up, allowing Larson to get inside of him.

Larson kept his car straight and in the rubber for the final eight laps. Meanwhile, Dietrich was trying every move available to get around Marks. However, Marks defended his position well to get the second biggest check of the night, Dietrich was third, with Macri and Moody next.

Abreu, Bell, Lynton Jeffrey, Ryan Taylor, and peck completed the top ten.

Heat wins were scored by Macri, Abreu, and Larson, Taylor took the B Main. The quick time award went to Marks, who turned in an amazing 11.888 second lap. In the heat races, Anthony Fiore crashed in turn one. His crew made repairs in time for the B Main, but he detected a steering problem and did not start. Likewise, Lance Dewease sustained an engine problem in his heat. He pushed off for the B but elected not to start that race.

The companion thirty lapper for the 358 Modified division was outstanding. Ryan Godown muscled his way into the lead in the early going. However, Brett Kressley worked his way into second on lap three. Duane Howard took third on the next lap, and Jeff Strunk assumed fourth on lap seven. Craig Von Dohren moved into fifth on lap twelve.

Godown continued to lead, but the heavy hitters behind him started to close in as the laps wound down. Godown got to lapped traffic first and he was able to use the slower cars on the bottom to maintain his lead as his competitors followed him in the middle groove.

The only caution of the race came on lap 28 when a backmarker spun in turn four.

Godown had the point for the single file restart, with Howard, Strunk, Kressley, and CVD lined up behind him. Godown led the rest of the way, but Strunk charged around Howard to take second on the final lap. Kressley and Von Dohren held their positions.

“I didn’t want to see that caution,” Godown said. “It put all the good guys right on my bumper. I just hit my marks the last two laps.

Sixth went to Kevin Hirthler. Craig Whitmoyer, Mike Gular, Justin Grim, and Jordan Henn completed the top ten.

Heat wins were chalked up by Grimm, Howard, and Hirthler. Doug Manmiller won the B Main.

Dirt Racing

Michael Norris wins his 5th Jook George Steel City Classic

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Photo: RUSH Late Model Touring Series

IMPERIAL, PA (July 25, 2026) – Michael Norris is back in Victory Lane at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway after winning Saturday night’s Jook George Steel City Classic.

The win was Norris’ fifth in seven events and the Late Model standout from Sarver, PA dedicated the win to his Grandparents.

“I want to dedicate this win to my grandma and grandpa,” said the 34-year-old Norris.  “We lost them this year and miss them a lot- this one is for them. My pap would always say I want you to go down there and show them how it’s done and I showed them how it’s done for him.”

The victory was a family affair for Norris, who was driving the ND Motorsports #N1.

“I have to think Nico (Dabecco) and Vinny,” said Norris, Nico’s brother-in-law. “We really changed the car a lot from the Firecracker (Lernerville Speedway June 27) and found some things we needed to address.”

Norris and Kyle Lukon led the 26-car field to the green flag with Norris leading lap 1 but Lukon grabbing the lead on lap and holding it through lap 7.

Norris wasn’t done however, pulling a slider in turn three to lead lap 8.  Norris padded his lead the next couple of laps, pulling out over a second over Lukon.

Lukon was slowed when he slid into the wall on lap 15, giving third place Dan Angelicchio the chance to catch up and the battle was on for second.

Lukon slid into the wall a second time on lap 23 and slowed to bring out the caution.

The restart lined Angelicchio up alongside Norris but ‘the crusher kid’ dropped the hammer and was gone. Demetrios Drellos was able to drive around Angelicchio on the outside to take over the runner-up spot, but was never able to get close enough to Norris to challenge in lapped traffic.

“When this track is like this, it’s so much fun and you can race all over it,” Norris explained. “They did a great job on it tonight.”

Norris took home $6,010 for the win and $6,500 for the night to bring his total take home from ‘the Jook’ to $34,000 over his five wins.

“I have to thank Branden (Lockwich),” said Norris. “He does such a great job, puts a lot of effort into this, and tries different things every year to make it better and get more people here. We’ll keep supporting it as long as they keep having it. Thanks to all the fans for coming out and Blair (Cress) for keeping this place open.”

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Dirt Racing

Marks Magnificent in Hodnett Classic at Port Royal

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Photo: Port Royal Speedway

PORT ROYAL, PA (July 25, 2026):  Brent Marks dominated the Greg Hodnett Classic at Port Royal Speedway to score a $15,000 victory on night number one of the Bob Weikert Memorial Weekend. Marks established himself as the odds on favorite to scoop up the $100,000 first prize.

Marks’ lead was almost 4.8 seconds before the only caution of the race. It was called prematurely on lap eighteen by a track official when Daison Pursley got out of shape in turn two. Pursley got his car righted and he was allowed to blend in where he was running after the caution.

Marks sped away from his rivals when the race resumed. Justin Peck moved into second with five laps remaining. Although Chase Dietz took over third on lap twenty-three, he was penalized to positions at the finish for being out of line for the restart. That moved Anthony Macri into third and Ryan Smith into fourth.

“The car was awesome all night,” Marks said. He timed in third in Group B, won his heat race, and ran away with the dash. He led all twenty-five laps of the feature event without any challenges.

“I wanted to make the top work a little more,” Marks noted. “Fortunately, there was a good cushion to help me out. After the caution, Marks came down off the top and ran in the middle for the final seven laps. His margin of victory was 1.035 seconds over Peck.

Peck, who came on strong in the final half of the race, mentioned, “I think we were fast from start to finish.” He was the fastest qualifier of the night, topping Group A with a lap of 15.862 seconds. He was second in his heat race and fourth in the dash. He added, “I haven’t felt this good at Port Royal since 2021.” He thought he could have squeezed a little more speed out of his car for the feature, “but, I was scared to get out of our window.”

Macri also thought that he had a good car. He commented, though, “I have to work on my tires under the yellow. I have to study.”

The dash finish set the first eight positions in the A Main. Marks and Macri occu[ied row one. They were followed by Dietz and Peck. Then came the championship contenders, Rico Abreu and Aaron Reutzel, in row three; and Pursley and Kerry Madsen, in row four. Ryan Smith and Giovanni Scelzi claimed row five based on their heat reace finishes. James McFadden and Danny Dietrich (who was sporting Weikert colors and the iconic number 29 tonight) departed from row six.

Marks jumped out to the early lead and he began to pull away from Macri. Peck and Dietz raced along in fourth and fifth, ahead of Abreu, Reutzel, Madsen, Smith, Scelzi, and Tyler Courtney.

The first five were unchanged through the first half of the race. Abreu and Reutzel battled for sixth, while Smith began to close in on them.

That premature caution on lap eighteen wiped away Marks’ advantage. Macri, Peck, Dietz, Smith, Reutzel, Abreu, Courtney, Madsen, and Scelzi were the announced starting order for the remaining seven laps. However, Dietz managed to position himself ahead of Peck for the restart, giving rise to the penalty imposed at the finish.

Dietz blasted into third on the restart. But Peck rallied and drove up to second by the finish. Macri was under attack from Smith in the closing laps and they were both moved ahead of Dietz in the finishing order.

Positions six through ten went to Logan Wagner, who was designated as the hard charger. He advanced sixteen positions over the course of the race. Most of his passed came after the restart. Abreu was seventh, followed by Reutzel, Courtney, and Madsen.

Madsen, Macri, Marks, and Pursley took the checkers in their respective heat races. Domenic Melair won the C Main. Cameron Smith took the honors in the B Main. Peck was the top qualifier, at 15.862. Abreu topped Group B with a time of 16.682 seconds. Forty-seven cars checked in for the event

Ageless Steve Wilbur went wire to wire to win the Wingless Sportsmen thirty lapper. He took the lead at the start and steadily pulled away to a seven second advantage. Brett Perigo moved into second on lap fifteen and he cut into the margin while Wilbur struggled with lapped traffic.

The lead was down to 1.666 seconds by the time the red came out for a spectacular crash involving Dexter Ehrenzeller and Donnie Farlling on the front stretch. Ehrenzeller’s car came to rest near the victory lane. He required medical attention and was transported to a nearby hospital. No report of his condition was available by the end of the program.

Tony Jackson followed Wilbur and Brett Perigo at the finish. Marty Brian and Sam Leonard, Jr. completed the top five. The nxt five finishers were Eric Wlaker, Curt Stroup, Scott Smith, Lee Kauffman, and Craig Perigo.

Jackson, Brian, and Brad Mellott tallied the heat race wins. There was no B Main needed to align the twenty-one car field.

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Dirt Racing

Dietz Finally Scores At Williams Grove

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Photo: Williams Grove Speedway

MECHANICSBURG, PA (July 24, 2026):  Chase Dietz finally got a win at Williams Grove Speedway. It was his seventeenth overall for the season and sixth in his career at the famous oval. The $6,000 triumph also extended his points lead in the fledgling PA Posse Series.

Dietz executed a perfect slider in turn four on lap thirteen to take the lead from the current Williams Grove points leader and defending track champion, Troy Wagaman, Jr. “You have to take your shot when you get it,” Dietz said.

Dietz commented that he tried to drive under Wagaman in turn one on the opening lap, but he could not pull off the pass. In fact, he lost a position to Anthony Macri in the process. He explained that the temporary setback “probably helped me, it pissed me off.”

He noted that “the track was pretty narrow with a good cushion.” But, he added, ”it was pretty dicey with those lapped cars. They want to run where you are.” Fortunately, Dietz was able to navigate around them efficiently after taking the lead.

He concluded, “it’s a great time to have this (his first win at the track) happen. We have the Outlaws coming in and we want to put it on them.”

Although this was a Posse Series race, the track used a format similar to a World of Outlaws event to help get the race teams ready for next week’s Summer Nationals program. Thus, the heat races started heads-up, with the fastest qualifier on the pole instead of fourth per Posse Series procedures. The first two finishers from each heat advanced to the dash, instead of the heat winners and the fastest qualifiers from beach heat. The dash established the starting order for the first six cars in the feature event, instead of a random draw. All others fell in line based upon their qualifying times, instead of their heat race finishes.

Accordingly, the pole position for the twenty-five lapper went to Wagaman, with Dietz as his wingman. Logan Rumsey and Macri were next in line. The final two dash participants, Brent Shearer and Austin Bishop, manned row three. Then came Danny Dietrich and Preston Lattomus, in row four; Justin Whittall and Dylan Norris, in row five; and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. and Doug Hammaker, in row six.

Wagaman reached turn one ahead of Dietz and established himself on the cushion. Dietz opted for the low side, and that allowed Macri to roll in behind Wagaman on the top. Macri had better momentum coming off turn two, and he gained the second position heading down the back stretch. Rumsey was fourth, followed by Bishop, Shearer, Dietrich, Lattomus, Whittall, and Norris on the opening lap.

The first four began to separate themselves from the other racers in the early going. Meanwhile, Dietrich was pressing Rumsey for the fifth spot.

On lap seven, Macri got a tremendous launch off turn two and he closed very quickly on the leader. However, Wagaman was able to get to a lapped car before Macri could make a bid for the lead. Soon thereafter, Dietz powered past Macri for second. He then closed in on Wagaman in traffic.

The only caution of the event occurred on lap eleven. Rahmer got a flat and struck the outside wall in turn two while running in the top ten.

Wagaman had the point for the single file restart, with Dietz in second, followed by Macri, Rumsey, Dietrich, Bishop, Shearer, Whittall, Lattomus, and Norris.

Dietz pressed Wagaman for the lead when the race resumed. It took him a couple of laps to set up his winning pass in turn four. Meanwhile, Dietrich and Bishop moved ahead of Rumsey.

Dewease was another racer making forward progress after the restart. He was thirteenth in the queue when the green light came on again, and he cracked into the top ten on lap fifteen. He gained two more positions in the final ten laps.

Dietz stretched his lead over Wagaman as the laps clicked off. Wagaman remained in second. Dietrich got under Macri for third with three laps remaining in the contest.

Dietz took the checkers almost four and a half seconds ahead of Wagaman. Then came Dietrich, Macri, and Bishop. Whittall, Rumsey, Dewease, Norris, and Ryan Smith completed the top ten.

Rumsey, Dietz, and Bishop took the heat wins. There was no B Main. Wagaman prevailed in the dash. Rumsey was the evening’s fastest qualifier with a lap of 16.715 seconds. It was his first quick time award.

Eli Tuckey survived an early challenge from Austin Reed to get his first career win at the speedway in the 358 Sprint Car division. “I was diving poorly,” Tuckey conceded. “I figured if I could stay next to him (Reed), I could pull it off.” Tuckey adjusted his wing and did exactly that.

Reed held on for second, followed by Chase Gutshall, Derek Locke, and Adam Carberry. Cody Fletcher, Brock Hammaker, Seth Schnoke, Matt Findley, and Tim Wagaman, II rounded out the top ten.

Tuckey, Gutshall, and Schnoke copped the preliminaries. There was no B Main needed to set the starting field.

Cole Young had a spectacular crash at the start of his heat race. His car flipped several times and the front axle was ripped from the car. He was not hurt in the wreck. Brian Wolf, Jr. tipped his car over at the start of his heat. The car was not extensively damaged, and he was not injured. He was able to start the feature.

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